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Wrecks Claim 3 Lives;
Doraville Man Drowns
Four persons died in accidents during
the past week in Forsyth County. Three
traffic fatalities in two separate acci
dents and one drowning were reported.
Two Jasper girls died as the result of
an accident at the intersection of
Georgia Highways 19 and 369 at Coal
Mountain on Monday at approximately
11:30 a.m.
Forsyth County Sheriff Wesley Wal
raven identified the victims as Regina
Ann Wilkie, 17, and her sister, Sherrie
Jan Wilkie, 13. They were passengers in
a car driven by their father, Marvin
Earl Wilkie, 44, of a Route 3 Jasper
address.
Wilkie was injured in the accident
and taken to Forsyth County Hospital.
He was reported to be in “satisfactory”
condition at about 4 p.m. on Monday.
The 17-year-old was pronounced dead
on arrival at the hospital and the 13-
year-old died some three hours later,
Walraven reported.
According to witnesses, the car car
rying the Wilkies was traveling east on
369, coming from Matt, when it appar
ently failed to yield the right of way to a
Local Committee Gearing
Up For 150th Birthday Party
BY SCOTT VAUGHAN
Staff Writer
On Dec. 3, 1832 something happened
that is very important to the citizens
and visitors of Forsyth County. It was
on this day, almost 149 years ago, that
this county was created.
In 1831 there was one large county
covering the northern part of the state
‘Obscene’ Book Case
Motions Seek Dismissal
Attorney Bruce Beerman, represent
ing one of three store clerks being
arraigned on charges of distributing
obscene material in Cumming, made
motions for dismissal of the case Mon
day in state court at Forsyth County
Courthouse.
Beerman made his motions for dis
missal on the grounds that the prosecu
tion has not specified which issues of
the magazines, “Eros” and “Oui”,
were sold to a customer by the clerk at
the Globe Station on Highway 19 south
of Cumming.
Beerman said following the state
court calender call Monday that his 12
different motions also include first
amendment rights.
State Court Judge Richard S. Gault
Building Activity Up Despite Interest Rates
By JAY JORDAN
News Editor
The local building industry is hams
trung by high interest rates and is
guardedly optimistic about the future.
Even so, the number of building per
mits issued, a common inidcator of
building activity, is higher for the first
five months of 1981 than for the same
time last year.
Mortgage money is available, said
Steve Vickery of Home Federal Savings
and Loan, but at high interest rates.
People want to borrow money, but
many simply can’t qualify for the pay
ments, he said.
Mortgage rates are running around
A CROWD GATHERS TO INSPECT THE DAMAGED AUTO
...involved in Monday’s fatal wreck on Highway 19
tractor and trailer rig traveling north
on Highway 19.
Witnesses said the Wilkie car stopped
at the stop sign, but then pulled out and
was hit on the passenger’s side by the
rig.
The driver of the rig, James Lenon of
Atlanta, was not injured.
A third vehicle was also involved in
the accident when the Wilkie vehicle
collided with a car about to turn right
off of 369 onto 19, going north. The
driver of the third car, Greg Wallis of a
Route 3 Cumming address, was not
injured.
In another accident on Friday eve
ning, June 12, Faron Monroe Pirkle, 26,
of a Route 8 Cumming address, died
when he lost control of his car on Shiloh
Road, south of Cumming.
According to Sheriff Walraven,
Pirkle was pronounced dead on arrival
at Forsyth County Hospital after he
apparently lost control of his vehicle
and struck a large tree.
The accident is still under investiga
tion by the Georgia State Patrol and
Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies.
of Georgia, west of the Chattahoochee
River. This was Cherokee County and it
contained the present counties of For
syth, Lumpkin, Bartow, Floyd, Gilmer
and others. During the year of 1831, the
state sent 96 surveyors into Cherokee
County to divide it into the smaller
counties.
Out of this division, Forsyth County
told the attorneys as they approached
the bench that defense would have 30
days to file the motions and then the
prosecution would have 30 days to file a
response.
+++
The Supreme Court of Georgia, in
Atlanta, convened Monday to hear ar
guments from attorneys in the case of
architect James Barker versus Forsyth
County.
Barker filed suit against various
parts of the county government in June,
1980. After a Forsyth County Superior
Court ruled against him in January, he
filed an appeal with the Supreme Court
of Georgia.
Barker is pursuing a recreation slide
on Sawnee Mountain in Forsyth County.
17 percent now, and if a person bought a
$50,000 home and financed $45,000, his
monthly housing expense, including his
loan payment, taxes and insurance
would be about S7OO. This means an
annual income of around $31,200 is
required, Vickery said.
“The problem is really not availabil
ity, it is just that (People can’t afford it,”
Vickery explained.
Yet somebody is getting the money
together for single family housing.
In the first five months of 1981, per
mits have been issued for 133 single
family homes. In the same period last
year, only 101 were issued.
Some in the building supply business
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'-i-rJ COUNTY HCIWV 0
VOLUME LXXII—NUMBER 24 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1981 CUMMING, GA. 30130 36 PAGES, 3 SECTIONS—2S CENTS
A 42-year-old Doraville man drowned
near the Shady Grove Recreation Area
on Lake Lanier at about 5 p.m. on
Sunday, according to Sheriff Walraven.
The victim, pronounced dead on arri
val at Forsyth County Hospital, was
identified as William D. Poss of Man
ning Street in Doraville.
The sheriff reported that witnesses
said Poss fell from a boat while at
tempting to repair the engine.
Five persons were injured in a three
car accident on Buford Dam Road on
Saturday at about 7:30 p.m., according
to the State Patrol office in Lawrence
ville.
Taken to Forsyth County Hospital
were Michael Lee Cooper, 17, of Trotter
Trail in Lawrenceville; Bobby Leroux,
16, of a Craig Drive address in Lav
renceville; Jack Randall Bulloch, 20, of
a Route 2 Loganville address; and
Jackie Ray Pugh, 22, and Vicki Marie
Pugh, 19, both of a Kelly Mill Road
address in Cumming.
Cooper, driver of one of the vehicles,
was charged with speeding and follow
ing too close, said Patrol spokesperson
Monday.
was bom on Dec. 3, 1832. Two years
later, on Dec. 22, 1834, Cumming was
incorporated into Forsyth County.
Over the past 149 years, Forsyth
County has seen a wide range of his
toric events, and several local authors
are making attempts to record this
history in book form.
During the year of 1982 the county
will be celebrating its 150th birthday
and the Cumming-Forsyth County
Chamber of Commerce is working on
plans to celebrate and commemorate
150 years of growth, work and pleasure
in this area.
The chamber has formed a special
Sesqui centennial Committee, which
will meet once per month for the next
year to formulate plans and ideas for a
special year-long celebration in 1982.
The first meeting of this special com
mittee was held on June 4, and Donna
Parrish, a local historian, was selected
to serve as the committee’s interim
chairman until elections are held in
July. Shirley Clements, another com
mittee volunteer, was selected to serve
as interm secretary.
“The committee wants the public to
understand that this is a volunteer
committee, and we urge local citizens
to either join or get involved in other
areas,” Mrs. Parrish said.
“The purpose of having the sesqui-
Continued on Page 2A
think they know who.
At Thomas Supply, Bobby Thomas
described business as “Good. Not as
strong as a normal summer has been in
the past, but it is still good. ... Ours is
not actually down, but it is not up.”
What is keeping business up is two
things.
One is the continuing development
around Lake Lanier.
The other is the shortage of rental
properties in Forsyth County. People
moving here must build a home if they
want a place to live.
Lots of “spillover” from Atlanta is
also holding up the local construction
industry, Thomas said.
Hammontree Choice
For High School Post
By LANE GARDNER CAMP
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Board of Educa
tion in an executive session last week
named Harold Hammontree as the new
principal for Forsyth County High
School beginning with the 1981-82 year,
said Superintendent B.M. “Bud”
Amsler Friday.
Principal at Otwell Middle School for
the last five years, Hammontree says
he has been with the school system for
13 years and in education for 19 years.
He has served as a coach and as assis
tant principal at the high school.
Hammontree has “tentatively” ac
cepted the “tentative” appointment,
said Amsler, but nothing will be official
till the matter is dealt with at the next
board meeting on June 18.
It became necessary for the board to
find a new principal for the county’s
only high school after current principal
Johnny Otts was named director of
secondary education for the school sys
tem in April. Otts has been principal for
nine years.
Hammontree is the board’s apparent
choice after Dr. G.L. Echols of
Eastman rejected the job which was
offered to him by the board several
weeks ago.
Originally Hammontree had been
named by the board (in February) to
serve as principal at the county’s new
North Forsyth Junior High School next
year.
Also included in the new administra
tion plan for the high school, said
Amsler, is for Rick Case and Dennis
Moore to serve as assistant principals
with Hammontree.
Case, assistant principal at Otwell
Middle School this year, had been
named to serve as OMS principal next
year. Moore, an assistant principal at
the high school this year, was to assume
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Cooling It In ‘The Tube’
Time on the playground is always looked forward to by children, whether they’re
in school or it’s summertime and they’re staying at a day-carecenter. These
children at the Forsyth County Day Care Center were obviously happy to be
outside last week, but because it was close to mid day and the temperatures were
up in at least the high 80s, some of the more heat-conscious youngsters chose to
hide out in the “tube.” They decided it was a whole lot cooler on the inside than
outside. (News staff photo by Lane Gardner Camp)
“I can’t say the (construction) busi
ness is healthy, but I can’t say it is sick
like it is other places,” Thomas said,
and added construction in this area is
stronger than in the Southeast as a
whole.
L.T. Frix, of Frix Brothers Inc.,
which sells building supplies and does
electrical and mechanical subcontract
ing, said business was “definately not
as good as it was last year.... It is just a
little better than it has been.” The
Forsyth County building industry is not
in the shape of Hall County, where
major firms have been forced to the
wall.
What is keeping the local building
the principalship at the new South For
syth Junior High School.
Ann Sefzik is already an assistant
principal at the high school.
Provided the plan to put Hammon
tree, Case and Moore at the high school
is approved, the board will need to find
persons to fill the vacated princi
palships at the junior high schools.
Amsler said Friday that the board is
now looking for candidates.
Otwell Middle School next year will
be known as Otwell Junior High School
and will be the county’s third junior
Volunteers Sought
To Form Draft Board
The draft board, the one that used to
bring young males greetings from their
friends and neighbors, is here again.
The state Department of Defense is
looking for volunteers to serve on 58
local five-man boards.
Forsyth, Dawson, Hall and Lumpkin
counties will comprise board number
four, said Maj. William Steele of the
Defense Department.
The state Adjutant General, Maj.
Gen. Billy M- Jones, said at an Atlanta
speech, “We are looking for 290 highly
qualified and dedicated volunteers to
fill these unpaid positions. The mem
bership of each board must be, insofar
as possible, representative of the com
munity served in both race and national
origin.”
Steele said forming draft boards does
not mean the military draft will start
again. The boards would be trained
periodically on the latest seclective
service developments and would be “in
industry going is some building on Lake
Lanier and some by people who are
moving to Forsyth County.
Interest rates are keeping would-be
builders down, Frix said, but there is
lots of light commercial building going
on.
One builder who asked not to be
named said the interest rates for per
manent financing for commercial con
struction start at 15 percent and most
pay 16 or 17 percent.
Much land is committed for commer
cial building now, the builder said. The
owners are waiting for affordable inter
est rates.
Resultingly, “building for private
high school in addition to the South and
North Forsyth County Junior High
Schools which are now under construc
tion.
The junior highs will house seventh,
eighth and ninth graders while the high
school will include tenth through
twelfth grades.
Construction of the two new junior
highs (and the new Coal Mountain
Elementary) is expected to be com
pleted before school starts in August,
according to architects’ reports given
at the May board meeting.
a stand-by situation. There will be no
need for inductions (into the military)
unless the law is changed.”
The draft board would be there in
case it is needed, Steele explained, just
like homeowners insurance. “You hope
you never have to draw a penny against
it, but it is nice to know it is there when
you need it.”
Jones said Congress would have to
pass a law to start the military draft
again.
But draft boards are being formed
now because tests in Maryland and
Kentucky showed they could put 100,000
men in uniform within four weeks of the
first being drafted. If there were no
draft boards, drafting the same number
of soldiers would take four to five weeks
longer.
Unlike the draft boards of old, the
new ones will decide only on requests
for deferment or exemptions from serv
ice, and then only after Congress brings
back the draft.
Young men will continue to register
at their post office on their 18th birth
day.
Draft board members must meet
several criteria.
They must be U.S. citizens aged 18
to 60.
They may not be a member of the
armed forces or the reserves, or be a
military retiree. Veterans may be
members, though.
They may not have served as a
member before for more than 15 years.
Applicants will be screened by Selec
tive Service officials. Then Gov. Busbee
will approve the applications. National
Selective Service headquarters will for
ward the applications to President Rea
gan, who will officially appoint the
board members.
Anyone interested in being on a draft
board should write the Selective Serv
ice System at 805 Walker St., Marietta
30060, or telephone (404 ) 429-6602 or 429-
6664.
Two Arrested
On Burglary
Charges Here
The Cumming City Police Depart
ment arrested two Cumming men Sat
urday, June 13 and charged them with
burglary.
James Jeffrey Cowart, 19, Allen
Street, and Ricky James Fields, 18.
Atlanta Highway, were arrested and
charged with the burglary of the home
of Garland Bagley, 211 Ridge Road on
Friday, June 12,1981.
Cumming Police Chief Gabe Dukas
said Bagley was not at home when the
burglary took place and the burglars
broke a window in the door.
Taken were three rifles and a shot
gun, which have been recovered.
A hunting knife and an RCA black
and white television have not been
recovered by the authorities, the chief
said.
industry has just about stopped.”
Around 80 percent of the commercial
building going on now is connected with
government in some way.
Commercial building permits are
still being issued because long-term
financing was secured before interest
rates increased. Architects are telling
him they don’t have much business that,
is not government-related.
Commercial-type permits issued in
Forsyth County seem to bear the
builder out. In 1981, 14 permits for
stores, offices and commercial-type
construction have been issued. Last
year, 13 were issued in the first five
Continued on Page 2A